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(NoModeL) 2 Sheets-Shet 1. W. P. BLKINS. WASHING MACHINE.

No. 483,647. Patented Oct. 4, 1892.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

l'mn t lllllillll Fun,

(No Model.)

W.- F. ELKINS.

WASHING MACHINE.

Patented Oct. 4, 1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM FRANKLIN ELKINS, OF COMANCHE, TEXAS, ASSIGN OR OF ONE HALF TO THOMAS J. BURKS, OF SAME PLACE.

WASHING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 483,547, dated October 4, 1892.

Application filed May 23, 1892. Serial No. 434,011. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM FRANKLIN EL- KINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Comanche, in the county of Comanche and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Washing-Machine, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in washing-machines.

The object of the present invention is to simplify and improve the construction of washing-machines and to provide one which will remove the dirt from fabrics without inj uring the latter and which may be conveniently operated with a minimum amount of exertion on the part of the operator.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a washing-machine constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional View. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the pounder. Fig. i is a similar view of the clothes-carrier. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the clastic support.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawlngs.

1 designates a washing-machine body or boiler of any desired configuration, preferably cylindrical, and provided at its lower end with a faucet 2, through which the water is drawn after the operation of washing. The cover 3 of the boiler or body 1 is provided with a central opening, through which passes a tubular stem 4 of a pounder 5, which forces the clothes being washed down upon a clothes carrier or holder 6, mounted upon a yielding support 7, adapted to give to allow the clothescarrier to be vertically reciprocated by the plunger and to prevent injury to the fabrics and to cause the water and steam to be forced through the clothes, thereby removing the dirt and stain from the latter and bleaching them. The yielding support 7 consists of a slightly-conical base, which fits snugly within the body and rests upon the bottom of the same, and a vertical tubular stem 8, which is adapted to fit within a vertical tube 9 of the clothes-carrier and to form a guide for the latter. The clothes-carrier consists of the vertical tube 9, which is provided with perforations 10, a slightly-conical disk 11, which is provided with perforations 12, and a vertical annular flange 13. During the reciprocation of the clothes-carrier the water and steam are forced through the perforations of both the disk 11 and the tube 9 into the clothes being washed. The upper end of the tube 9 is closed, thereby causing the water and steam to pass out through the perforations 10 and be injected into the clothes. The plunger 10 is composed of the said tubular stem 4 and a slightly-conical perforated disk 14, and it is reciprocated by an operat ing-lever 15, pivoted intermediate its ends in a bifurcation of the upper end of the stem 4, and having one end provided with a handle 16 and having its other end fulcrumed on a standard 17. The disks of the yielding support, the clothes-carrier, and the plunger fit snugly within the body and conform to the configuration of the same, and should the body or boiler be changed as to form the said parts should conform to the configuration of the body or boiler. The upper end of the stem is provided with a plug 18, constructed, preferably, of hard Wood and provided with the said bifurcation and having a transverse perforation 19, through which passes a springkey 20, thereby securely and detachably pivoting the lever to the stem 4. The standard 17 has its lower end hinged at 21 to the top of the body or boiler, and it is provided throughout its length with a series of slots 22, which receive the inner end of the operating-lever and enable the same to be adjusted vertically to suit the quantity of clothes being washed.

The cover 3 of the washin -machine body is provided with handles, and it is retained in position during the operation of washing to prevent the escape of steam or overflow of water by a spiral spring 23, which has its lower end bearing upon the cover and its upper end engaging atransverse strip 24, which is provided with a central opening to receive 7 W juri ng the fabrics, and that. it maybe readily.

the stem and which has its ends engaging hinged wire handles 25, arranged on opposite sides of the bod y or boiler. The spiral spring 23 is preferably conical to give it a broad bearing upon the cover. The yielding support is provided with a similar spiral spring 26, which is slightly conical and has its lower end bearing upon the base, and it is disposed spirally around the stem.

It will be seen that the washing-machine is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, that it is adapted to remove dirt and stains and to bleach clothes without in adjusted to suit the quantity of clothes being washed, and I desire it tobe understood that I do not limit myself to the precise details of construction herein shown and described, as I may, without departing from the spirit of the invention, make minor changes therein.

The top and bottom coils of the spiral springs 26 are arranged in eyes 27 and 28 of the base and the bottom of the clothes-carrier.

What I claim is- 1. In a washing-machine, the combination of a body, a yielding support arranged therein, a clothes-carrier mounted on the support and comprising a perforated disk provided at its periphery with a vertical flange and a tube rising from the disk and provided with perforations and having its upper end ciosed, and a pounder provided with a vertical stem receiving the tube and having a disk provided with perforations, substantially as described.

2. In a washing-machine, the combination of a body, a yielding support comprising a base arranged upon the bottom of the body, a tubular stem rising from the base, and a spiral spring disposed upon the stem and having its lower end bearing against the base, a clothes-carrier provided with perforations and having a tube receiving the stem of the support and provided with perforations and a pounder having a tubular stem receiving the tube of the clothes-carrier, substantially as described. 7 l V V 3. In a washing-machine, the combination of a body provided at opposite sides with handles extending upward, a pounder provided with a stem, a cover having a central opening to receive the stem, a spiral spring disposed on the stem, and a transverse piece having a central opening to receive the stem and bearing against the upper end of the stem and having its ends engaging the handles, substantially as described.

In testimony thatmI claimthe foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM FRANKLIN ELKINS.

Witnesses:

G. A. CUNNINGHAM, P. F. A. POSEY. 

